Can Mercedes F1 create surprise this season and ultimately be the team which could, however, thanks to successful developments, be the one that prevents McLaren and its pilots from flying too quickly to the two world titles?
The German team was generally the 2nd fastest team on the first 4 races, with a good consistency of George Russell on the podium (3 times). But there is still a bit of it for the W16 to tickle the MCL39
When asked the technical director James Allison where, according to him, McLaren had the advantage, he replied: “I think nobody knows it. If we knew it, it would be very easy to copy, right?”
“But we can reasonably say that their surface temperatures at the back of the car are probably lower than that of other teams, because their advantage is manifested above all on a track or the rear axle is the limit, where the temperature of the rear tires influences the pace.”
“But this is never a single detail, and they did a good job on all levels.”
To replicate Mercedes F1 has planned a salvo of developments, from the European campaign. These should be introduced to Imola rather than Miami.
“We plan to bring a substantial package for Imola. But there are also new features this weekend in Djeddah. Nothing as spectacular or as visible as a floor. But things that we want to discover performance.”
But the German team does not intend to sacrifice 2026, according to Allison.
“Any team with a minimum of common sense will continue to devote a good part of their efforts to the future, because the 2026 regulation is very different from that of 2025.”
“There are only 20 races left to compete for the teams, and then it’s over. We are trying to push the car as much as possible during this first quarter of the season, and we may have improvements thereafter, but that represents a lot of efforts for the future.”
“Fortunately, even without modifying the geometry of the car, there is still a lot of time on the turn to find thanks to a specific work to do on the settings.”
